Leask



H. N. LEASK. REFUSE DE STRUCTOR FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. II. I916.

Patentefl June 24, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

H. N. LEASK.

REFUSE DESTRUCTOR FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. II, I916.

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'frIE NoRms PETERS 110.. Pnumurm H. N LEASK. REFUSE DESTRUCTOR FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED FEB- II, ISIS.

1,307,909. Patented June 24, 1919.

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nnrusnnnsrnUoroR FURNACE.

"specificati n bf LettersIPatcntn Patented n 24, 19

ApplicationfiledFebruary 11, 19-16. Seria1No.7 7,728. i

disengages large quantities of dust, which is not only objectionable in itself but is deleterious to any mechanical portions of the plant and injurious to the men operating it. lVher-e the refuse is of highercalorific value and larger masses of clinker areformed, the clinker, owing to the size of these masses, is difficult and expensive to remove andtra'ns: port.

In an ordinary furnace, the qualityof the.

fuel consumed or burnt is regular, ,and'tlie amount of residue produced by the consumption is very small, in'proportion] to the amount of fuel burnt, andis also a morepor less regular quantity, so that therefis little difficulty in removing such residuewhile the furnace is maintained continuously burn-l In a refuse destructor', however, the amount of residue left after the burnmgiof ing.

the fuel is comparatively large,being anywhere from 25 to percent, or even more, in weight, of the welght of the. original ref use introduced into the furnace. The qual-j ity of the refuseto beconsumedalsogenerally varies to a very great extent. The es-- sential difference, therefore, between anordinary furnace and a refuse destructor, and the particular 'difliculty in dealing with refuse in a destructor, lie in themeans for removing the residue after the refuse has been burnt. In general, it has been found that the best course is to charge-therefuse destructor andto burn the refuse, and to remove theresidue aftertheffiiehas been burnt out." It is common to i burn several charges of refuseone after the other till the grate is full offclinker, whenthe whole "of the contents of thegrate is'withdrawn and the fire is then started over again, so that in i a refuse destructorthe general practiceis,

instead of havinga continuousfire, as in an ordinary furnace, to have an intermittent fire ,and to producea continuous result from such a destructor, it is usual to arrangea pluralityof grates side by side in one structure, so that, while the grates in turn may be out of action, the heat produced from the whole combustion may be more or less con tinuous. i The object of the present invention is to devise a simple means bywhich the block or mass of clinker produced in a refuse destructor may be readily and simply handled. At present, the difliculty of handling the clinker froi'na refuse clestructor is very great. It has eitherto bebroken up in the grate before it is Withdrawn, or has to be withdrawn inone mass and handled, according to circumstances.

According to the present invention, an improved refuse destructor is provided, having a water chamber with or without a spill way arranged beneath the furnace into which the clinker Gil/11138 depositedin a mass directly from thecombustion zone, such submersion of the clinker preventing the dispersal of dust and at the same time breaking up or granulating the clinker so that it can be easilyhandled or transported.

The invention will be fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate diagrammatically several embodiments of-the invention. Throughout the specification similar parts are indicated by similar reference letters but different indices are employed for the dilferentmodifications and; where, in the description of a figure such references are not specifically referred to the parts in question are similar to those in previously described figures.

Figural is averticalsectional view of one form of theinventionl Figl 2 is a view generally similar to Fi 1, but; showing a modified form of water pit or tank.

3 is a fragmental sectional View, showing afurther modified form of Water pit, andalso showing, in dottedlines, a grab for removing the granulated clinker i i his afsectional view iofa still further modification,showing the use of hydraulic plungers for lowering the hearth, and for removing the clinker therefrom when lowered. Y j I Fig. 5 is a sectionalview showing theuse of a hingedhearth.

'burnt out.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the use of a pivoted hearth which is controlled by a hydraulic plunger. 7

In any of the arrangements of destructor shown in the drawings the combustion zone (generically indicated by A) of the furnace is formed with metal walls a, which may be of any suitable shape or construction according to circumstances and are arranged so as to be maintained relatively cool by means of water steam or air,-or any combination of them. The combustion zone may be round, oval, square or other shape, and its walls may be cooled in any way deemed advisable; for example it may be formed with a jacket a through which air, steam or water is circulated in any suitable manner. p

The forms of destructor furnace here shown, while being particularly applicable for refuse of higher calorific value, which on combustion produces large masses of clinker, may also be employed for refuse of lower calorific value which produces a larger proportion of ash and little or no clinker. In all of these arrangements a combustion zone, generically indicated by A, such as above described may be employed and underneath the zone A is arranged a movable hearth or door (generically indicated by H) adapted to be removed or lowered when a fire is-burnt out, to drop or submerge the clinker into the pit or tank (generically indicated by B) of water arranged beneath it, which ismade of sufficient size to wholly submerge the clinker.

The hot clinker on being immersed granu lates or breaks up into pieces which can be readily handled or transported, and can be removed from the bottom of thepit or tank B in any suitable manner, either mechanically or by hand, and the ash is quenched so that it will not fly about.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, a combustion zone A such as above described and having substantially vertical walls a, is built or supported in anysuitable manner in the furnace brickwork,land arranged underneath the combustion zone is a pit or tank B adapted to be filled with water, either so that the water'rises above the bottom-10f the walls of the eombu'stion'zone A and forms a water seal to prevent the escape of air or not, air for eombustion being introduced into the zone through twyers or openings 0 in its walls from-an air duct C.

Beneath the combustion zone Ais provided a hearth H" adapted normally to close it at the bottom but'capable ofbeingslidor moved to one side to allow-the clinker in the grate to drop into the tank B when the charge is .VVhere the refuse to be destroyed contains much n'ioisture a drying hearth D may be arranged over the combustion zone A on to which the refuse is dropped andupon which it is dried by both radiant heat and convection from the hot gases of combustion, after which the dried refuse is raked or pushed into the combustion zone or grate in large or small quantities. Except in the case of wet refuse, however, such a drying hearth is not necessary.

Where a drying hearth is not employed, the refuse may be fed directly to the combustion zone, or it may first be fed on to the shelf E from which it may be pushed into the combustion zone A.

In operation, the refuse is fed into the combustion zone'in any suitable manner, as above described, either in one or several operations-and either by hand or mechanically and, as combustion takes place, clinker is formed, and when the fire is burnt out the hearth H is withdrawn and the clinker is allowed to fall into the water pit B.

A suitable device F for removing the cooled clinker may be arranged in the bottom of the pit B as shown, or at one side of the pit or tank.

Where such device is positioned at the bot-tom of the tank, the whole weight of the clinker would come upon it, and to avoid this a grid-like series of bars G may be inserted sidewise intoor across the pit to support the clinker and take the main weight oif the device, so as-to permit of its operating more freely, and such bars or grid may be made capable of bein rocked if desired. It is to be understood that the water pit B extends beyond the wall of the combustion zone A in order that the clinker may be removed by or from the conveyer F without draining the water from the water pit.

The clinker removed fromthe pit or tank may be handled in any way desired and being, wet no trouble occurs from dust rising or blowing about.

An overflow or spillway J may also be provided at one side of the pit or tank for the escape of any splash or wave formed when the clinker is dropped into the water. Any suitable device may be employed to maintain the water in the pit at a constant level. A ventilator K may also be provided for the escape of steam or gas, with a valve or damper 7: adapted to close the ventilator when not in use.

F ig. 2 shows an arrangement in which the water pit or tank is extended to the back of the furnace. In this case the pit or tank B is constructed below the combustion zone A with an inclined wall Z2 down which the clinker is adapted to be drawn by gravity, when it is dropped from the hearth, into the ,tank extension L in the bottom of which is arranged a clinker-removing device F The tank extension L may be closed and provided with a ventilator K as shown. In the arrangement shown in this figure the hearth H is formed with openings or pergrab may, also be employed for feeding the.

refuse tothe furnace. 1 Fig. 4 showsgan arrangement the tank extension b The advantage of;

in which the hearth H is holdup by .a-hydraulio ,plun! ger h adapted when the charge is burnt out to lower the hearth into the tank B A secthis arrangement isthat no splash or gwave is formed as the: clinker is loweredjint-o the tank. i i i a sliding hearth ay: beemployed which when movedj tooiieside allows theclinker to drop onto the shelf in the tank from Or with a similar arrangementyof tank,

which it ispush'ed into the tankextension by a plunger such as N*.

Fig. 5 shows an arrangement in which the hearth H is hinged as anwholeat one side and is;allowed todrop i or tunron its hinge to lower the clinker intothepit B which maybe constructed as shown in this figure or in any of the other figures of the drawings.

Fig. 6 shows a another. arrangement in which the hearth H is supported by," a hydraulic plunger h but in this case the hearth is pivoted on thetop yof the, plunger and a stop 0 is provided adapted to tilt the hearth as the ram is lowered to slide the clinker off into the tank B.

In all the arrangements shown, it is obvious that instead of water being maintained. continually in the water pit or tank B, the clinker may be first dropped into the tank and water may then be flooded into it to quench the clinker, being afterward pumped out again. Such an arrangement absorbs considerable power for pumping but obviates any splashing or waves when the clinker is dropped into the tank.

lVhere an extension tank is used and the water is maintained continuously in the tank, the water preferably rises high enough in the tank toseal the space under the grate and prevent passage of air to or from the outside.

In all the arrangements shown the furparting from the invention.

A shelf or the like E, E as shown as preferably formed at the top of the combustion zone A, A on to which any unburnt material on the fire may be pushed or raked when the clinker ,is to be dropped, suchmaterial being. afterward raked or pushed into the combustion zone to start the next fire.

Or such shelf may serve forreceiving and storing a fresh charge of refuse, or it may be used for both purposes. i

Furnaces of the type above described may be arranged as individual furnaces or in groups with either or both a common flame chamber and a common clinker tank.

Having thus described the said invention and the best means I know of carrying the sameinto practical effect, I claim 1'. In a refuse destructor, the combination of a main chamber, a combustioncompartment within thesame having substantially vertical walls and of substantially uniform horizontal area, a pit located below the combustion compartment extending beyond the mainchan'iber and communicating with the outer atmosphere, said pit adapted to contain water to form a water seal between the inside and outside of the main chamber, and means including a movablehearth adapted normally to close the bottom of said compartment whereby clinker accumulated in the combustion compartment may be intermittently-released and deposited in one mass into said pit and thereby be quenched.

2. Ina refuse destructor, the combination of a main chamber, a combustion compart- 111I1hWli3l1IlI1fl1B same having substantially vertical walls and of substantially uniform horizontal area, a pit located below the co1nbustion compartment, extending beyond the main chamber and communicating with the outer atmosphere, said pit adapted to contain water to form a water seal between the inside and outside of the main chamber, and means including a movable hearth adapted normally to close the bottom of said compartment whereby clinker accumulated in the combustion compartment may be intermittently released and deposited in one mass into said pit and be thereby quenched, said means comprising a displaceable hearth located below the combustion compartment and above the pit. i

3. In a refuse destructor, the combination of'a main chamber, a combustion compartment within the same having substantially vertical walls and of substantially uniform horizontal area, a pit located below the combustion compartment, extending beyond the main chamber and communioatingwith the outer atmosphere, said pit adapted to contain water to form a water seal between the inside and outside of the main chamber, means including a movable hearth adapted normally to close the bottom of said compartment whereby clinker accumulated in the combustion compartment may be intermittently released and deposited in one mass into said pit and be thereby quenched, and a mechanical device for removing and transporting clinker deposited in the pit.

4. In a refuse destructor, the combination ofa main chamber, a combustion compartment within the same having substantially vertical walls and of substantially uniform horizontal area, a pit located below thecombus'tion compartment, extending beyond the main chamber and communicating with the outer atmosphere, said pit adapted to contain water to form a water seal between theinside and outside of the main chamber, means including a movable hearth adapted normally to close the bottom of said compartment whereby clinker accumulated in the combustion compartment may be intermittently released and deposited in one mass into said pit and be thereby quenched,

said means comprising a di'splaceable hearth contain 'water'to form a'water seal between the inside and outside of the main chamber, means whereby clinker accumulated in the combustioncompartment may be intermittently" released and deposited in one mass Copies of this patent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the into said pit and be thereby quenched, a mechanical device for removing and transporting clinker deposited in the pit and means in the pit topartially support the weight of the clinker deposited therein and thus preventthe clinker stopping the operation oftheremovingdevice.

6. In a refuse destructor, the combination of a mainchamber, a combustion compartment within the same, a pit located below the combustion compartment, extending beyond the main chamber and communicating with the outer atmosphere, said pit adapted to contain Water to form a Water seal. between the inside and outside of the main chamber,- meanswhereby' clinker accumulated in the combustion compartment may be intermittently released and" deposited in one mass into said pit and be thereby quenched, said means consisting of a displaceable hearth located below the combustion compartment and above the pit, a mechanical device for removing and transporting clinker'deposited in the pit and means in the pit to partially support the weight of the clinker deposited therein and prevent the clinker stopping the operation-of the removing device.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in: the presence of two subscribing witnesses;

HENRY NORMAN LEASK.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. HILTON, W. J. Davies Gommiusioner of Patents,

Washington, I). 0. 

